Book picks similar to
The Evolution of Us by D. Kelly


romance
arc
second-chance
contemporary-romance

The Affair


Danielle Steel - 2021
    The author happens to be Rose’s son-in-law, which creates a painful dilemma for her. Her daughter Nadia, a talented interior designer, has been struggling to hold her marriage together, and conceal the truth from their young daughters, her family, and the world. But Nicolas, her straying husband, is blinded by passion for a younger woman—and not only that, she is pregnant with his child.Nadia’s three sisters close ranks around her, flying to Paris from Los Angeles and New York to lend support and offer their widely divergent advice. Athena, a jovial celebrity chef with her own TV show in Los Angeles, is leery of marriage. Olivia, a stern conservative New York superior court judge, is haunted by a shocking secret of her own. Venetia, a zany fashion designer, happily married with three kids, has the gentlest, most realistic point of view. Despite their well-meaning advice, Nadia needs to figure out what she herself thinks, and what to do next.The Affair is about the painful journey to discover who you are, what you want, and how much forgiveness and compromise you are capable of in order to be loved. It’s about finding yourself at the crossroads of life when everything is on the line. It’s about the hard lessons we are forced to learn about others and ourselves. Right up until its final twist, this gripping novel is full of powerful insights about who we love, how much—and even how much we love ourselves.

Imperfect Bastard


Pamela Ann - 2016
     Falling in love with your brother's best friend can be catastrophic...so is unrequited love. Love was one hell of a mother*&c#!$. Not only was it addictive, but it was that kind of drug that could get you so high you floated out of your physical existence, and then it had the potential to drop you more swiftly than a lactose-intolerant monkey could shamelessly take a crap. It was so powerful, in fact, that it could drive any sane, lucid person to become thoughtless, mental to the point of destruction, consumed with taking desperate measures in order to win what they yearned for the most. But playing with fire could end up engulfing me inflames, burning every ounce of me until I was left in ashes, a speck of dirt that could be smeared and wiped away, left to be forgotten, unloved, alone. Drew Cavendish was every woman's bad boy fantasy. Not only was he cool and smart with a bevy of women lapping up everything he did; he also happened to be my brother's best friend and secretly the love of my life. After losing my virginity to him, I hadn't seen him since. Now I was moving to study at NYU and about to live with my brother ... in a condo where Drew lived, as well. At one point, he had meant the world to me, but circumstances had changed. Consequently, even though the palpable attraction was intoxicating, I knew better than to succumb to his easy charm. I would try to keep my composure and stay aloof. There was no need for panic. Yet my heart was a beat away from having a serious meltdown. I would survive this as I had all my life--by loving him from a quiet distance.

A Love So Tragic


Stevie J. Cole - 2016
    We all make them. Sometimes we break them. But what happens when the promise you break haunts your dreams, when that moment of betrayal echoes within every last beat of your heart? Love. Love is passionate, painful, and all consuming in the most brutal yet beautiful way. How many people have you said 'I love you' to? Five, ten, maybe no one? I've said that word to two men, but only one where I felt it. Tragic. This word sums up my relationship with Nicolas: devastating, painful, depressing. A first love that should have lasted a lifetime, but I ruined with a stupid decision. Nicolas is my star crossed lover, and even though Shakespeare has taught me that stories such as ours always end in tragedy, I can't not love him, even if I'm married to someone else.

Hotshot


Ahren Sanders - 2016
    I don’t remember a time I didn’t love Crenshaw Bennett.I tried to deny it, but my feelings grew deeper.I thought he could never love me the way I love him.I was wrong—outrageously, deliriously, and beautifully wrong.One innocent kiss changes my life forever.Suddenly, Shaw is mine.Loyal, devoted, and the most loving man on this Earth.Together, we create an explosion of fiery passion, devotion, and chemistry I never knew was possible.All of my dreams are within reach, but I should have known it was too good to be true.The past always catches up to you, and I’m left staring at my worst nightmare.Faced with the unthinkable, I am forced to choose between the man I love and a past I cannot change.Shaw’s fighting like hell to prove we can have it all, but can I find the strength to be the woman he needs?

Promise Me


Barbie Bohrman - 2013
    Drawing strength from him, she left everything behind and sought a new life for herself, far away from the pain and shame.Fast forward ten years: Sabrina is settled in Miami, happy at last—until her best friend urges her to attend her high school reunion and face her painful past once and for all.And…maybe meet the mysterious Tyler once again.Can Sabrina find the courage to face the demons in her past, let go of the pain, and move forward into happiness? Or will insecurity and self-doubt ruin her one chance to get the love she’s not sure she even deserves?

More Than Friends


Barbara Delinsky - 1992
    . .The Maxwells and the Popes have been friends forever. The women were college roommates, their husbands are partners in the same law firm, their kids have grown up next door to each other, and the two families share both vacations and holidays.Like Wisteria Lane, the "perfect" suburban street of Desperate Housewives, all is beautiful and serene -- until an accident forces these close neighbors to look beneath the surface. And when their idyllic lives are unexpectedly shattered by a moment that can never be erased or forgotten, their faith in one another -- and in themselves -- is put to the supreme test.In this moving, unforgettable story, Barbara Delinsky exquisitely captures the depth and complexity of the human heart as few writers can.

Pure Abandon


Jeannine Colette - 2015
    For me, it was in the soul-searing golden eyes of a magnanimous CEO. It all started when I decided to go back to work. After putting my career on hold, I told my husband I wanted to reclaim the woman I once was. My intentions were pure, and my heart belonged to my husband. Then, I met him. Alexander Asher is arrogant. Rude and dismissive, he got under my skin. I absolutely hated working for the Manhattan playboy and heir to his family’s fortune. Then, a misunderstanding led to friendship, the friendship became fierce, and soon I found myself questioning Asher’s motives … and my own.I shouldn’t feel this way. I fought the temptation until a dark secret had me rethinking everything, especially what I once thought was perfect. Two men are devastatingly broken by my actions—and I can only fix one. When I make my choice, will he even want me after all that’s happened? ******Pure Abandon is a STANDALONE novel in the Abandon Collection and a USA Today Smashwords Hitlist Bestseller!The Abandon Collection is a series of standalone novels featuring dynamic heroines who have to abandon their reality in order to discover themselves . . . and love along the way. Each book features a new couple, an exciting city, and a rose of a different color.

Rhythm & Blu


S.L. Jennings - 2018
    And I played it on repeat until life’s streetlights flickered on and stole him away. Riot Blu. Top 40 f*ckboi. Paparazzi player. Trashy reality TV trainwreck. But once upon a time, he was the boy next door. Once upon a time, he was every note in every song on every mixtape he had ever made for me.Now he’s back. A lot more arrogant. A little more tortured. And more gorgeous than any memory I held dear could do justice. I know no good can come from being anywhere near him. But Seattle is only so big, and if I’m going to get the exclusive of my career, I have to swallow my pride, take that dreaded walk down memory lane and agree to his terms. Move in with him. Immerse myself in his life—the life he left me to build. And try not to fall back in love with the man who ripped my world in two.

First In


Danika Bloom - 2020
    He stole her job. When these rivals start playing with fire, sparks fly, donuts melt, and hearts burn.★★★★★"If you like hot, action-packed, firefighter romance, look no further. Danika puts you right on the front line in all the best ways."~Cora Seton, NYT & USA Today bestselling romance authorAt 24 and just 5’4”, Sophie Beaulieu may not look like the best candidate to become the first paid chief of the Lily Valley Volunteer Fire Department. But the crew have faith in her and everyone expects she’ll get the job. A job she needs to keep her family home after her father dies.So when an arrogant and hot as Hades career firefighter rides into town wearing the new chief’s helmet, nobody is more shocked or angry than Sophie.Nick West is convinced this small-town job is his ladder to a chief promotion in the city. Nick's been an outsider all his life, even in his own fractured family, so he has no trouble taking on the opposition, whether that’s the haters within the department, or the feisty woman he takes on as his Deputy—despite their explosive chemistry.As the competition rages like an uncontrolled bush fire, sparks fly between Nick and Sophie, both in and out of their turn-out gear. Will their romantic fling be extinguished by their egos, or can they fan the flames to find their forever?~~~First In is a steamy, contemporary romance and the first stand-alone book in the Mixed Six-Pack series. If you like off-the-charts chemistry and enemies-to-lovers tales that end in a satisfying HEA, you'll adore Danika Bloom's emotional—and funny—love story.

Break


Cassia Leo - 2018
    My brother’s heart throb best friend. Then, he was my boyfriend for six of the happiest years of my life. Until he dumped me on social media in front of millions of people, officially cementing his role as my worst enemy.Three years later, Ben returns to our small beach town with an ego the size of California, a drinking problem, a movie deal that’s about to fall through, and a secret that only he and his dying father know. I’m not the same pathetic girl I was when he broke my heart. I’m stronger now. I won’t let him break me again.But it’s hard to resist those ocean-blue eyes, that sculpted, tattooed body, that smooth voice, that enormous… Well, you get the picture. Every time he makes me laugh or swoon, my defenses fracture. The walls around my heart are crumbling fast. And Ben’s wrecking ball of a secret is about to deliver the final blow.

The Dom Games


Rachel Robinson - 2016
    One billionaire dominant. Three months competing for his “affections.” One winner takes all. Dominic Reed, heir to an oil fortune, has spent his entire adult life perfecting his dark hobby. With little control in every other area of his manicured life, he finds his release as a dominant. With more money than he knows what to do with, he creates a TV show: The Dom Games. This year is different than the past seasons, this year Dominic will be the star. He wants a forever submissive. Before last month Kayla Parchet thought the word submissive only referred to dogs. Fresh out of college with a business degree that is scrap paper, she needs to get an Ivy League masters degree to pursue her dreams. When Kayla is accepted to be one of the ten, her world takes a dark turn as she competes against women who live the submissive lifestyle for enjoyment. Can she hold on to her dreams long enough to win the competition and ten million dollars? Or will she get sucked into Dominic’s twisted world?Only a few whips and canes stand between Kayla and the future she’s always desired. Lights, camera, sex…

Until Harry


L.A. Casey - 2016
    Hard because Harry, her beloved uncle, has died suddenly, but also because of him. Kale.Kale Hunt has been her best friend since childhood. But it was never that simple. He was Lane’s reason for leaving home and moving to New York. Seeing him with someone else, in love with someone else, shouldn’t have hurt. But it did. It really, really did. So she upped sticks and left, started a new life and cut herself off from her past.But now she’s back, and all the feelings are right there. As if she had never left.Emotions are running high for everyone, and tragedy has a funny way of bringing people together. But is Lane reading the signs right? Are they still just friends, or is there something more?

5 Years Later


Jaxson Kidman - 2017
    and there's a knock at the door. He's back, again. And this time he's not alone. * Full length standalone romance with guaranteed HEA and no cheating *

The Boy Next Door


Ella James - 2017
    That’s what he was. Dash Frasier—my hero from the day we met, when I was six and he was nine. His sister was my best friend, the three of us one happy crew. Then one sweaty summer night changed everything. No one understood me like Dash. No one made me feel so loved. That’s why, when he skipped town, it wrecked me.Now I’m older. Wiser. I’ve just snagged my dream job, writing at a film studio. The lead animator on my project? You guessed it.He’s not the boy next door. Not anymore.I’m guarding my heart this time. But Dash has secrets that could break us both.

It Started with a Lie


Lisa Suzanne - 2018
    When his business falls into debt, he turns yet again to his rock star brother. Only this time, his brother refuses to throw money at the problem...he intends to solve it. Enter Vivian Davenport, business fixer extraordinaire, supreme professional, and Brian's new boss.Brian has always called the shots, but now he's the one taking orders. When the tiny lie that Vivian is his new girlfriend slips out, he's forced to play the role of doting boyfriend to a woman he can't stand.It started as a lie, but what happens if it turns into the truth?It Started with a Lie is the first book in the Truth and Lies duet.